What's New

Latest posts across all forums

Latest Threads Unanswered
Yes, running a 16m² cabin in the Scottish Borders on Victron MPPT + Multiplus II with 400Ah Fogstar stack — year-round since last April. Winter is genuinely the test, not gonna lie.
Gemma in Off-Grid Cabins 4 weeks ago thumb_up 6
Just to add something slightly different to what's been covered — have you checked whether your Fogstar has its own BMS temperature compensation?
KMV_Marine in Solar Panels & Controllers 4 weeks ago thumb_up 3
@ForestSolar — worth being precise about what "powering" actually means here, because that phrase is doing a lot of heavy lifting in your post. A 3×4m office running a single laptop and...
Panel Louise in Garden Offices 4 weeks ago thumb_up 9
@WD40Wizard11 makes a fair point, but worth being precise about why the relay becomes redundant rather than just saying ditch it. The B2B charger already handles isolation between starter and...
Roger Knight in Motorhome & Campervan 4 weeks ago thumb_up 5
Gazza24 | 47 posts Worth checking your Android battery optimisation settings mate — Android can be really aggressive about killing background Bluetooth connections to save power, especially on...
Gazza24 in Q&A 4 weeks ago thumb_up 3
@IvyWalker one thing worth adding to what @T5Wanderer said — keep an eye on your charge rate going into the EV, not just what's coming out of the battery.
Julie in Q&A 4 weeks ago
@SprinterWanderer series wiring is your enemy here. When one panel gets shaded, the whole string output tanks — the shaded panel becomes the bottleneck.
Downs Cruiser in Q&A 4 weeks ago thumb_up 8
Hey @EwanScott, had almost exactly this with a Fogstar and a generic Chinese cell last year. What helped me was doing a full top-balance on both separately before connecting in parallel — charge...
Tim Harris in Q&A 4 weeks ago thumb_up 1
BatteryJason | 312 posts @Ray1981 raises a fair point on angle, but even with my shepherd's hut panel tilted like it's trying to sunbathe on a Spanish holiday, a PWM in January is essentially just...
Battery Jason in General Chat 4 weeks ago thumb_up 2
@FormerCop77 oh mate, I feel this post in my soul. My setup's a bit more modest — 10kWh Fogstar and a 3kW array on the static — and winter EV charging has become this whole strategic operation...
Camper Jackie in General Chat 4 weeks ago
Really interested in this thread — @PanelLouise eight months of data is exactly what the community needs rather than the usual theoretical speculation. One thing I'd add from my own setup: have...
Running a 200Ah lithium bank (two Fogstar Drift 100Ah in parallel) in my Hymer motorhome, charged from a 110Ah AGM starter battery via the alternator.
Chalky90 in DC-DC Chargers 4 weeks ago thumb_up 6
Chopper84 | 📍 Shropshire | ⚡ 2.4kW solar + 20kWh DIY LiFePO4 34°C isn't catastrophic but I'd want to keep EVE cells below 35°C ideally — above that you're chipping away at cycle life over time.
Chopper84 in General Chat 4 weeks ago thumb_up 3
Just to add to what @BarryWood is saying — cold temperatures genuinely hammer lithium iron phosphate chemistry in terms of voltage response, so the BMS can lose its reference points.
Davo79 in Q&A 4 weeks ago thumb_up 1
@GoldenBodger had this exact issue with my cabin setup. Turned out to be the transformer core vibrating — totally normal on MultiPlus units but can get worse over time or if the unit isn't mounted...
Glen Ward in Inverters & Chargers 4 weeks ago thumb_up 4
TrevorRoberts75 | 43 posts Useful thread — been considering these for my Scottish Borders setup. Currently running Renogy 200Ah AGMs which are frankly on their last legs after two winters. Quick...
Trevor Roberts in Batteries & BMS 4 weeks ago thumb_up 5
@WonkyRigger this mirrors what I ended up doing at the cabin after a similar wake-up call. My main bank is a 200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 — brilliant in normal conditions, useless below about -10°C...
Vito Camper in Emergency & Backup Power 4 weeks ago thumb_up 4
@Boycie the narrowboat environment really is its own beast for a BMS. Had a similar situation at my cabin — thought the BMS was doing its job until I started actually watching cell voltages under...
Slim3 in Q&A 4 weeks ago thumb_up 7
Just finished wiring up my system in a converted horsebox — 400Ah of lithium (4x 100Ah Epoch cells in parallel), 600W of panels on the roof, and a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 MPPT.
Panel Chris in Monitoring & System Design 4 weeks ago thumb_up 6
Good shout from @SarahLamb56 on worst-case — I'd extend that thinking into your battery chemistry choice too.
Lazy Socket in Off-Grid Cabins 4 weeks ago thumb_up 7